Has anyone stopped taking Lamictal because of Insomnia?

[forward2007]

I already take 600mg of Tegretol XR twice a day. I was also taking 200mg of Lamictal in the morning and 100mg of Lamictal at night but could not sleep to the point that it was literally driving me crazy. I decided to stop taking the night dose of Lamical and am already sleeping better. For twenty years I only took Tegretol or Tegretol XR and no other anti-epileptic drug's. About five years ago, I started having more seizures. I figured out in the last year or so though that the reason I was having more seizures the last five years was because of hypoglycemia and sleep apnea. I completely changed my diet and dropped twenty five pounds and have been using a CPAP machine for the sleep apnea for just under a year now. Changing the diet to a high protein high fat diet made the biggest difference in controlling the seizures. Not how many anti-epileptic drug's I was taking. Has anyone else reduced their dose of Lamictal or completely stopped taking Lamictal because it gave them insomnia?

[Endless]

What a great question.

Lamictal + Trileptal is like a sleeping pill to me in the morning. I'm out for the count. But at night, I can't sleep. I can't figure it out. My neurologist just reduced my dose of Lamictal for awhile. I'm still ramping up the lamictal, ramping down on the Trileptal. I've tried just not sleeping in the a.m., but I can't stay awake. (It's right after my dose of Lamictal) I tried P.M. lamictal, but I had the same problem - no sleep. What's up with THAT? Maybe I'll need to get a job that is night shift.

I'm trying some alternative things, too, and I'm wondering how I'll test them. I guess we'll just have to risk seizures, which is a lousy alternative. Any seizure with altered conciousness revokes our right to drive.

[Nakamova]

I had bad insomnia, restless sleep, nightmares, for the first two moths I was on Lamictal. But I stayed on the Lamictal, eventually my body adjusted, and my sleep is fine now.

[rangerwvu]

I have taken Lamictal for about 5 years I guess? Anyway, there were not problems sleeping the first few years (I was always a light sleeper and never got 'great' sleep) but the past year has been terrible re: sleep. I changed the dosage in terms of when I take it, 300 mg in AM and 250 in PM. I try to take PM dose no later than 7pm. I have been traveling a lot for work this past year, so I think that is part of it for that time period, hotels hotels hotels. Anyway, most nights when traveling I take ambien which really helps and I get at least 6 hours, mostly 7....which in itself helps a lot with my seizure control. When at home I usually take a 'sleep aide' which is basically a small dosage of benadryl (at least the kind I use). A big trigger for me is lack of sleep so I gotta do something even though I loathe taking another pill...have done all under MD supervision of course.

[manu]

YES, YES, YES! After taking it for a whole year, I had to switch to topamax because of the bad insomnia lamictal was giving me. For "bad" I mean waking up in the middle of the night, every single night, since starting the drug, and not being able to fall asleep for 2 to 3 hours, no matter how tired I was. I was desperate and exhausted. I noticed the difference as soon as the switch took place. I was afraid it was just placebo effect, but after several months into it, I can say it is not.

[Endless]

Oh, Lord. I'm going through it now. I'm a walking zombie.

I've been on Lamictal I think a couple of months, only 200mg. I was getting between 3-4 hours of sleep a night, with no naps possible. My body wouldn't let me.

My doctors had me try Trazadone and Ambien. All they did was give me 1 more hour of sleep and they made me extremely cotton-headed and dopey all day. Not worth it for only 1 more hour of sleep.

The most recent try is Gabapentin, 600mg at bedtime. Now I'm getting about 4-1/2 hours a night, very predictably. It's not enough, and I feel awful. I'm wondering if the lack of sleep is causing my dizziness, blurry vision, joint and muscle aches, exhaustion...

I've also tried Melatonin, Sleepy Time Tea, Accupuncture, Massages, Relaxing music, and hypnosis. No relief.

Don't want to go off the Lamictal, though. I'm going to stick with it for two reasons: because my head is clearer than on the other meds, and aslo I'm running out of medication options. Plus the "speedy" feeling and headache are almost gone, which is good. Maybe the sleep will get better, too.

[ColmanMac]

Hi Endless - Have never been prescribed it; Don't know why coz my Consultant's shoving everything else down my throat.

But there again, I've always suffered with insomnia as a side efect of my other meds.

Col.

[manu]

I, too, was on a very low dose; yet, the insomnia persisted. No other side effects, though, other than the fact that I gained at least 10 lbs for starting eating (or binging) while up in the middle of the night.
I started exercising regularly and striving to do so almost every day, but nothing, not a change in my sleeping (or lack thereof) pattern. I think a year was a good trial period.
If topamax won't work I can still go back to it (or even to phenobarbital, I hope).

[ColmanMac]

Careful chopping & changing your meds, though my friend. As Im unstable with brain injury, my meds tend to be changed @ every quarterly review. They don't have bad effects but do tend to knock me for six at times.

Col.

[manu]

Careful chopping & changing your meds, though my friend. As Im unstable with brain injury, my meds tend to be changed @ every quarterly review. They don't have bad effects but do tend to knock me for six at times.

Col.

Gawd I know! That's why I was so against changing meds to start with. But then the neurologist mentioned osteoporosis (phenobarbital) and he convinced me ... what have I done?!

[ColmanMac]

My GP once told me that it was often a lot less hassle to change your consultant than change your meds! (I thought he was joking!)

[manu]

My GP once told me that it was often a lot less hassle to change your consultant than change your meds! (I thought he was joking!)

I did have different neurologists in the last 25-ish years, and I have never let them tell me what to do if I didn't completely agree with them; but this time I let this one convince me.

[ColmanMac]

Hi Manu - I'm extremely lucky, I feel, in that I have a Consultant I can talk to & she listens. She's also very well versed in Nuerosciences generally & Epilepsy specifically - writing various papers, etc.

If you ever get the chance, look out for stuff written by Prof. Margaret Jackson of the Regional Nuerosciences Unit @ Newcastle Royal Victoria Infirmary. Theyr'e worth reading and she writes in "English" not "Doctor-speak".

Col.

[henhouse]

I help my self get a good nights sleep by not eating after dinner (as close to 6 pm as possible) and taking a sleeping pill (1 temazepam) 1/2 hour before I go to bed. My insomnia was not that I couldn't fall asleep, but that I would wake up after an hour or two of sleep and not be able to get back to sleep.

[Endless]

Henhouse,

My insomnia is exactly the same. I can fall asleep just fine, but wake up 2-4 horus later. So far sleeping pills haven't worked. I feel like a zombie. It's awful. I think sleep deprivation is doinrt stuff to both my mind and my body. Gotta sleep.

[forward2007]

I already take 600mg of Tegretol XR twice a day. I was also taking 200mg of Lamictal in the morning and 100mg of Lamictal at night but could not sleep to the point that it was literally driving me crazy. I decided to stop taking the night dose of Lamical and am already sleeping better. For twenty years I only took Tegretol or Tegretol XR and no other anti-epileptic drug's. About five years ago, I started having more seizures. I figured out in the last year or so though that the reason I was having more seizures the last five years was because of hypoglycemia and sleep apnea. I completely changed my diet and dropped twenty five pounds and have been using a CPAP machine for the sleep apnea for just under a year now. Changing the diet to a high protein high fat diet made the biggest difference in controlling the seizures. Not how many anti-epileptic drug's I was taking. Has anyone else reduced their dose of Lamictal or completely stopped taking Lamictal because it gave them insomnia?

For what it's worth, it sounds like the insomnia was caused by the hypothyroidism. The hypothyroidism was almost worse the the seizures!

[momof3boys]

I was put on Lamictal in April and was taken off due to a allergic reaction, but the insomnia was just apart of the bad side effects I had from it. I couldnt sleep at all during the nights. I would be laying in bed til 3am and not be able to get to sleep.

I was on the medication for 16 days when I found out through my PCP that I was having an allergic reaction and was taken off of it. Since then my sleep has been alot better!

[stilldancing_98]

It made me have more myoclonic seizure and it kept me awake. I hate that drug. Don't get me wrong it works for a lot of people.